Nice blooms. I love the view from the patio!

Very pretty. I love the patio pathview. Let me tell you, you don't have to apologize for any delphinium bloom. I love them!
kay

The patio view gets my vote, too. Not that the other views are beautiful,tho. Love the rose on the arbor.

I'm most impressed with your columbines. How many years have you been growing them?

I had some pretty blue and white ones last year, but they didn't come back this year.

Do you grow the larkspur from seed? I put a single plant in the kitchen garden last fall and it's blooming now.

Thank you. The patio view would have looked prettier had I rolled up the hose and moved my tool stool.

I think I bought a few of the dark columbine at the nursery last year. Some have crossed between the white, yellow, and pink last year.
This is the first year these columbine have bloomed, but they came up last year. I have been growing assorted columbines for about 8 years.

About 8 years ago I bought 2 6 pks of larkspur and have saved the seed every year since. All I do is blow the seeds off my hand to scatter them. I do this at the time the mother plants are dropping seed, as I suspect Mother nature knows better than I.
I do the same with the columbine seeds. They will come up next spring and bloom the second spring.

Some of you may remember the gardenia rose from about 4 or 5 years ago. It was growing on a hoop and looked like a bridal veil. It survived the move, but has not ever bloomed. Well it is coverd with buds this year. You can see it growing on the corner of the shed (through the arbor).

Very pretty! I especially like all your different columbine - your dark one looks like the Black Barlow I planted last year. Hope to see blooms from it this year and that it's as pretty as yours.

Here is a link that might be useful: AQUILEGIA vulgaris Black Barlow

It's funny what we notice in our own photos. I was too busy oogling over the beautiful flowers that I didn't even notice the hose or stool until you mentioned it in your second post. The columbines are gorgeous. I really like your fence in the picture from the patio through the arbor.

Thanks for the ID Lucky.

Thyme, that fence was here when I bought the house in 07. I think it is the original fence, so is about 15 years old.

Let me get on my soap box.

For some of you new folks. When I bought the house in Nov. 07 the yard was 85% grass. This picture was about Feb. 08.
I had a large Ash tree removed on the left.
I covered the future garden area with cheap roofing paper
and covered the paper with deep mulch. As I could afford it I add good soil. I have a man that brings me mulched leaves most months. I have a lot of worms now and pretty good soil.
Sooooo, the lasagne method really does work.
I am 66 years old and have had 2 back surgies and in 06 had my back reconstructed to correct kyphosis and scoleosis.
My best friend is a widow also and lives with me. She has had 9 back surgeries. If we can do this, anyone can.

That was 26 months ago.

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Same view Easter 2010

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Incredible. I've got some columbines just starting to crack buds. I've got your larkspur from last year scattered all around the yard. I'll be shaking plants all summer trying to scatter the seeds. I also have some of your nigella, but I can't figure out if what I see in the garden are poppies or those seedlings. All were scattered in the fall and have germinated over the winter and early spring.

I love your backyard. Working on making mine like that. Full and floriferous.

Token, the nigella looks very much like the larkspur (very hard to tell the diff) and the poppies look sorta like dandelions.
I noticed I spelled Natchitoches very wrong. LOL!

Beautiful Kathy!
It IS incredible, just as token stated.
Your back yard is very Cottagey. All the Roses and Columbines...there just aren't words to express the pure delight I have in just looking at your pictures. They are not only beautiful but they are so big! Looks like an old garden because of how big all your plants are now. I loved your farm gardens. I still remember your beautiful photos from the farm days, but this is just amazing!

The Gardenia rose cutting you & Diane sent me is taking off. It sat in the ground sulking the first year and the pot for two years and didn't grow but 8 inches tall. Well, this year, Miss Temperamental finally sweetened up her disposition and is coming alive. She now has three runners that are 6-7 ft. long and two that are 3-4 ft. long. I still don't know where I will plant her. I hope she blooms for me. Can't wait to smell the blooms.

I have five colors of Columbine (also cross-pollinated from the original three colors. One is a dark purple (original color), one is a light pink, one a darker pink and one that is coral (a soft orange-pink), and one buttery yellow. They have just started to bloom. Gorgeous things. I couldn't grow things like that on my place until I began adding Peat and peat-soil to the leaves and compost I kept dumping in the growing areas. Of course, they still don't hold a candle to yours, but I am very pleased I can finally grow them at all! The natural soil here is mostly sand and very alkaline. Couldn't grow alpine flowers or acid loving flowers or plants until I added the peat. My investment was only $30 for three huge bags of peat that I bought at Wally's World, one bag at a time.

Thanks for sharing.
~Annie

Magnificent, Kathy! I can't get over the growth of your garden in just two years. It's really really inspiring. Your pictures were quite a treat. Thanks for sharing them!

I'm headed to the village compost pile tomorrow. I'll be using regular boxes under the compost. I hope my garden will turn out even half as well as yours.

Kathy, what you and Diane have done is nothing short of miraculous....and both with back troubles. I am embarrassed to complain about my various ailments now!(I do have 4 years on you though).

First before I forget; the gardens are beautiful and how you all must enjoy them.

I have never seen such a collection of columbines before and I am very surprised they grow well in Texas. I have three new seedlings coming on this spring...don't know if I will have bloom this year or not. My one mature plant is a tall yellow one.

I have Buff Beauty rose too. Mine isn't quite as large as yours yet. I think that is my favorite color, apricot and the fragrance is wonderful. I planted mine next to the house and it is flopping out in the yard. I need some sort of arbor or trellis like yours to semi-control it. I have apricot foxgloves planted with it.

Never apologize for tools or hoses in your garden.....I have them too. Too much trouble to put everything out of sight when you just have to drag it out again the next day. It gives the garden a 'lived in' look. Shows you are caring for it.

Be sure to show us the other rose when it opens.

I almost forgot....love that iris too. I looked it up and it was introduced in 1917, a true antique iris. I will take photos of all of mine when the bloom this year. I know some have not survived that rain we had where they stood in water. I think we discussed a trade last year and I wanted to wait until they all bloomed....hope I remember to take pics this year.

Sorry for the long response.

glenda

Thanks for the nice comments. I am happy to inspire anyone. I want people to know that gardening does not have to be "back breaking" work.

Annie, I am so glad the rose has finally decided to take off. Put it some where with lots of running room. Those canes get to 20+ feet. It is definitely worth the wait.
We have three that Diane rooted, a total of 4. So my oldest son will be digging up 2 of them.

Memo, I think the boxes work as well or better. We ran out of boxes and the roofing paper was easier to roll out.

For you that might be concerned about the roofing paper, it decomposed in about a year. As I said, I have tons of worms, so I know it is not toxic. I even apologize to the worms and cover them back up with some of the soil.
LOL! only a gardener would understand that.

Some things I planted right a way. I just cut a hole in the paper as needed to plant individual plants.

Well, I looked this morning. Only have three Columbines colors now. No yellow and no deep pink. I will have to see if the little nursery down in Chandler has any colors I don't have.

Some little sweet sister on here sent me some seeds. Can I just sprinkle them where I want them to grow?

Mine aren't nearly as tall as yours though, Kathy. Yours must be twice as big! Wowzers!
Everything is so lush. Gorgeous.
You are such a gem, Kathy.

~Annie

Scatter them where ever you want them.

Plantmaven - Thank you for sharing your gorgeous pictures.
Columbine is one of my all time favorites. Just beautiful!!!!

Carrie B.

Plantmaven, thanks for the info on larkspur seeds. That's something I definitely want to see again in the garden. All winter the plant was pretty in the herb bed, but when those flower spikes started to shoot up and then bloom it was like WOW!

The before and after pics of your front garden are very inspiring! Thanks for showing them again, I'm still connecting garden pics with poster's names but I remember seeing pics of your front garden before - it's looking wonderful this year. Amazing the difference a couple of years makes with some effort. A pleasure to view.

I'm drooling- that view from the patio is so beautiful. You have done so much work! Your neighbors must LOVE you.
Renee

What beautiful columbines..Love the pastel colors. That iris color is a winner! Such a beautiful color..do you have more to show us? Don't keep us in suspense..show us more. Love the dainty shade of that rose. Smart idea about the tar paper and somebody I just met uses all leaves for mulch and plants all her plants very close so there are no weeds. I think I will consider using leaf mulch in one of my beds to try it. Doesn't it decompose and you just turn it over next year into the soil? What's this about worms? Don't get the connection. Duh! I assume the tar paper kills the grass there, and then you don't need to dig it up? You can send me an email if you wish.

Pip, I will answer your questions here.

The leaf mulch decomposes and you don't have to turn it over. You have to replace it or some type of mulch each spring. Especially in zones with high summer temps.
The paper or cardboard kills the grass and feeds the few earthworms, which then produce more worms.

My leaf mulch supplier, Ray, does the maintence for a neighbohood. Each time he brings about 20 to 25 large bags of mulched leaves.
Ray has a helper when he brings the leaves. this year the helper asked wher all the leaves fron last year went.

Before he brought me leaves, I would stop on the street and put bags in my truck, when I found them curbside.

See the link for more info

Here is a link that might be useful: lasagna gardening

Hi Kathy,

Decided to check here and see what you were up to. Your garden looks absolutely amazing considering we had two years of drought while you were doing this.

Love the Columbine and just planted them this year after being inspired by yours. Found them on clearance at Lowe's and cleaned them out along with some Heuchera.

Your soapbox is working. We are doing a lasagna bed in the side yard with mostly composted leaves. Starting small and will add as time and materials allow. The neighbor has been throwing his leaves behind the fence for 20 years so we have a real treasure trove of compost for free.

Thanks for the inspiration - Shirley

Dang, Shirley, you have black gold from behind the fence.
And you are welcome for the inspiration.

If you want more purple iris let me know. I need to thin them. You probably won't know for a year or so, but one of y'all got a start of this iris. I thought all the ones at the back were the old purple.

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k

oooh oooh, I hope it was me! That is one is gorgeous. They are all planted now and should bloom next year.

It's raining now or I would take a picture of the compost. To us it's almost as purty as any flower.

I was out walking the other day and found this Snap Dragon vine growing in a vacant field:

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There's no landscaping around so it must be a native.